Safety and Compliance

Safety is paramount in the rail and ferry industry - both the safety of our own staff and passengers we carry and safety of the general public.

The rail and ferry business

By its nature the rail and ferry industry is an unforgiving workplace. We try to counter the inherent risks and give our staff and contractors a safe working environment through the provision of training, safety equipment, and specialist safety staff.

Public safety on the other hand, often relies on the actions of individuals who are outside of our control.  KiwiRail attempts to encourage certain types of behaviour to improve the safety of the rail and ferry environment.

This includes providing rail safety education programmes, conducting anti-trespass initiatives, and upgrading public level crossings.

There are roughly 1400 public road level crossings in the country and 85 standalone public pedestrian crossings. Around 700 road crossings have either barrier arms or flashing lights and bells - the others are protected by stop or giveway signs. Currently only 20 percent of crossings are fitted with barrier arms - a legacy of the past, and the comparatively high costs and engineering time and skills involved in installing them.

Ten years ago there were regularly between 30 and 40 level crossing collisions a year. It's dangerous to regard individual years as typical - which is why we place more emphasis on rolling averages. In recent years the average has been trending down. In the 2007 calendar year there were 23 public road level crossing collisions, in the 2008 year, 20, but in 2009, 30.

At the risk of tempting fate, we'd like to think we are seeing a gradual decline in the number of collisions.

Ten years ago, Tranz Rail identified a group of collision black spots that were responsible for about 80 percent of collisions. There were roughly 30 crossings on the list.

Much of the progress on making these crossings safer has occurred since 2005 as we've accelerated the upgrade programme.

In the five calendar years between 2000 and 2004, there were only seven upgrades carried out. By the end of the 2009 calendar year, we had completed 34 more. The progress we have been making in upgrading them is directly reflected in the reduction in collisions.

Fatalities at unprotected level crossings put the spotlight on the progress KiwiRail Network is making in upgrading crossings. While barrier arms might look deceptively simple, they are not "off-the-shelf" solutions.

Each installation takes months of design work, planning and testing. Fatalities put pressure on us to adopt an ad hoc approach by reacting to the latest collision. We find ourselves in an unenviable situation.

It's hard to say "no" to those who appeal to us to install barrier arms at crossings where they have lost family members or friends. But to be fair to all communities around the country, we have to make decisions based on objective information.

The crossings we upgrade meet an objective test based on the volume of road and rail traffic, the collision history of the crossing and any other relevant factors like visibility along the line.

The bottom line is that even at the increased rate of upgrading crossings, it's going to take time to install protection at all those that need them. It's also sobering to reflect on the fact that more than 50 percent of collisions occur at crossings fitted with either barrier arms or flashing lights and bells. This tells us that crossing upgrades aren't the only tool we need to employ.

KiwiRail is a major sponsor of the Chris Cairns Foundation, which aims to raise public awareness of the responsibilities at public level crossings. It was formed in 2006 by international cricketer Chris Cairns, whose sister Louise died in 1993 when a train she was travelling in collided with a truck at a level crossing near Rolleston, south of Christchurch.

The Foundation focuses on education campaigns to help people understand the dangers associated with level crossings and the rail network. In 2008 Chris Cairns led a fundraising and awareness campaign which involved a walk from Auckland to Rolleston.